Guardianship - Minnesota Court Forms and Information

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Minnesota Courts

What is a Guardian?

A guardian is appointed by the court to make personal decisions for the person subject to guardianship.

How is a Guardian different from a Conservator?

A guardian is appointed to make personal decisions for the person in need of protection. A guardian protects the person. A conservator is appointed to make financial decisions for the protected person. A conservator protects the estate.

Who needs a Guardian?

Minors or incapacitated adults who do not have the understanding or capacity to make or communicate responsible personal decisions. People who are unable to meet personal needs for medical care, nutrition, clothing, shelter, or safety are also subject to guardianship.

The Minnesota Courts have forms and information about guardianship. The Courts do not publish form instructions for every form. See the Conservatorship & Guardianship Manual for information. You may need to speak to a lawyer to determine which forms you need.

Download court forms:

Forms on the Courts website are organized in "packets" and by individual forms. Packets include form instructions and all individual forms. If you are not sure what form you need, start with the Packet and download each individual form in the packet as you need.

Notice about Fillable Smart Forms
Some Minnesota court forms are “Fillable Smart Forms.” For information and help using Fillable Smart Forms, see Technical Support.

Establishing Guardianship for an Adult

Establishing Guardianship for a Minor

Terminating Guardianship

A guardianship terminates upon:

The death of the person subject to guardianship
The appointed guardian becomes incapacitated
The guardian is removed or resigns, or
The person subject to guardianship regains capacity.

If you have a guardian or know someone who has a guardian but you do not think the guardian is needed anymore, you can file a petition with the court to ask that the guardianship be terminated.

You can find the forms you will need here.

Emergency Guardianship

Emergency guardianship is granted for a specific amount of time. This is usually a short amount of time. Emergency guardianship applies when there is a risk of immediate danger to the personal safety of an incapacitated person. This only applies when waiting the couple of weeks for the standard application process would put the person in need of protection in danger.

You can find the forms you will need to file for emergency guardianship here.